Peacock Mausoleum given new look

Showing its colours: Anne Holloway of the Friends of Linwood Cemetery with the restored mausoleum.

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The Peacock Mausoleum in the Linwood Cemetery has been given four new faces, thanks to 100 litres of free paint.

The century-old Christchurch mausoleum had been boarded up to protect it from weather damage and vandalism, Friends of Linwood Cemetery (FLC) secretary Alexandra Gilbert said.

The vault houses prominent 19th-century businessman and politician John Thomas Peacock, who arrived in Canterbury in 1844 and donated the money to build the Peacock Fountain, which is now in the Botanic Gardens.

Dulux last year gave a total of 2000 litres of paint to 20 community projects nationwide. FLC chairwoman Anne Holloway, who is an artist, started painting the plywood boards to enhance the mausoleum.

She has completed all of it, except for the lettering.

"I'm still looking for someone to help me with that because I don't paint lettering," she said.

The mural will be unveiled tomorrow, followed by a tour of graves linked to significant heritage buildings in the city.